Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. A signal cancellation method comprising the steps of splitting an input signal into a first and second signal, and splitting said second signal into mutually orthogonal first and second subsignals and recombining said first and second subsignals after respective amplitudes thereof have been adjusted, forming a third signal, and canceling said first signal by the third signal thereby obtained.
2. A signal cancellation method comprising the steps of splitting an input signal into a first and second signal splitting said second signal into first and second subsignals of same phase, orthogonally recombining said first and second subsignals after respective amplitudes thereof have been adjusted, forming a third signal, and canceling said first signal by the third signal thereby obtained.
3. The signal cancellation method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second subsignals is split into third and fourth subsignals of mutually opposite phases, said fourth subsignal is delayed, and after the amplitude of said third subsignal has been adjusted, it is recombined with said fourth subsignal after said delay.
4. The signal cancellation method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second subsignals is split into third and fourth subsignals of the same phase, said fourth subsignal is delayed, and after the amplitude of said third subsignal has been adjusted, said third subsignal is recombined in antiphase with said fourth subsignal after said delay.
5. The signal cancellation method according to claim 1, wherein said second signal is split into mutually orthogonal first and second subsignals and a third subsignal having a freely selected phase in the opposite quadrant as said first and second subsignals and third subsignal is delayed, and after the amplitudes of said first and second subsignals have been adjusted, said first and second subsignals are recombined in antiphase with said third subsignal after said delay.
6. The signal cancellation method according to claim 1, wherein said second signal is split into mutually in-phase first, second and third subsignals, and third subsignal is delayed, said first and second subsignals after amplitude adjustment are combined in mutually orthogonal phase and said third subsignal after said delay is combined in a freely selected phase in the quadrant opposite the first and second subsignals.
7. The signal cancellation method according to claim 1, wherein a first adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the first subsignal is adjusted and the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced, and a second adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the second subsignal is adjusted and the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced, are alternately performed in repetition.
8. The signal cancellation method according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said first and second subsignals is split into third and fourth subsignals of mutually opposite phases, said fourth subsignal is delayed, and after the amplitude of said third subsignal has been adjusted, it is recombined with said fourth subsignal after said delay.
9. The signal cancellation method according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said first and second subsignals is split into third and fourth subsignals of the same phase, said fourth subsignal is delayed, and after the amplitude of said third subsignal has been adjusted, said third subsignal is recombined in antiphase with said fourth subsignal after said delay.
10. The signal cancellation method according to claim 2, wherein said second subsignals is split into mutually orthogonal first and second subsignals and a third subsignal having a freely selected phase in the opposite quadrant as said first and second subsignals, said third subsignal is delayed and after the amplitudes of said first and second subsignals have been adjusted, said first and second subsignals are recombined in antiphase with said third subsignal after said delay.
11. The signal cancellation method according to claim 2, wherein said second signals is split into mutually in-phase first, second and third subsignals, said third subsignal is delayed, and first and second subsignals after amplitude adjustment are recombined in mutual orthogonal phase and said third subsignal after said delay is combined in a freely selected phase in the quadrant opposite the first and second subsignals.
12. The signal cancellation method according to claim 2, wherein a first adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the first subsignal is adjusted and the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced, and a second adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the second subsignal is adjusted and the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced, are alternately performed in repetition.
13. A signal cancellation device, which adjusts the phase and amplitude components of one signal formed by the splitting of an input signal so as to be the antiphase of the other signal, and cancels the input signal component by recombining these signals,
the signal cancellation device characterized as comprising:
an orthogonal splitter, which splits one of said signals into first and second subsignals which are mutually orthogonal;
first and second amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of the first and second subsignals; and
an in-phase combiner, which combines in-phase said first and second subsignals which have undergone amplitude adjustment.
14. A signal cancellation device, which adjusts the phase and amplitude components of one signal formed by the splitting of an input signal so as to be the antiphase of the other signal, and cancels the input signal component by recombining these signals,
the signal cancellation device characterized as comprising:
an in-phase splitter, which splits one of said signals into first and second subsignals having the same phase;
first and second amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of the first and second subsignals; and
an orthogonal combiner, which orthogonally combines said first and second subsignals which have undergone amplitude adjustment.
15. The signal cancellation device according to claim 13, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster is able to reverse its output signal in positive phase or reverse phase.
16. The signal cancellation device according to claim 13, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster comprises:
an anti-phase splitter, which splits input subsignals into third and fourth subsignals of opposite phases;
a delay device, which delays said fourth subsignal;
an amplitude adjuster, which is able to adjust the amplitude of said third subsignal in a single phase; and
an in-phase combiner, which combines in the same phase said third subsignal after amplitude adjustment and said fourth subsignal after delay.
17. The signal cancellation device according to claim 16, wherein said orthogonal splitter, which splits the split signal into mutually orthogonal first and second subsignals, and said anti-phase splitter, which splits subsignals of the input into third and fourth subsignals having mutually opposite phases, are formed by a common multi-phase splitter.
18. The signal cancellation device according to claim 13, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster areis provided with:
an in-phase splitter, which splits input subsignals into third and fourth subsignals of the same phase,
a delay device, which delays said fourth subsignal,
an amplitude adjuster, which is able to adjust the amplitude of said third subsignal in a single phase,
and an anti-phase combiner, which combines in opposite phases said third subsignal after amplitude adjustment, and said fourth subsignal after delay..
19. The signal cancellation device according to claim 18, wherein said orthogonal combiner, which orthogonally combines said first and second subsignals after amplitude adjustment, and said anti-phase combiner, which combines said third subsignal after amplitude adjustment and said fourth subsignal after delay in opposite phases, are formed by a common multi-phase combiner.
20. The signal cancellation device according to claim 13, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster comprises:
a splitter, which splits the input signals into mutually orthogonal first and second subsignals and a third subsignal, which has a freely selected phase and is in the opposite quadrant of said first and second subsignals;
a delay device, which delays said third subsignal;
third and fourth amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of said first and second subsignals each in a single phase; and
an in-phase combiner, which combines in the same phase said first and second subsignals after amplitude adjustment and said third subsignal after delay.
21. The signal cancellation device according to claim 13, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster comprises:
a splitter, which splits the input signals into first, second and third subsignals having the same phase;
a delay device, which delays said third subsignal;
third and fourth amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of said first and second subsignals each in a single phase; and
a combiner, which combines said first and second subsignals in the same phase after amplitude adjustment and said third subsignal after delay in a freely selected phase in the opposite quadrant as said first and second subsignals.
22. The signal cancellation device according to claim 13, and further comprising an automatic controller, which alternately and repetitively performs a first adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced by controlling a first amplitude adjuster, and a second adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced by controlling a second amplitude adjuster, are alternately performed in repetition.
23. The signal cancellation device according to claim 14, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster is able to reverse its output signal in positive phase or reverse phase.
24. The signal cancellation device according to claim 14, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster comprises;
an anti-phase splitter, which splits input subsignals into third and fourth subsignals of opposite phases;
a delay device, which delays said fourth subsignal;
an amplitude adjuster, which is able to adjust the amplitude of said third subsignal in a single phase; and
an in-phase combiner, which combines in opposite phases said third subsignal after amplitude adjustment and said fourth subsignal after delay.
25. The signal cancellation device according to claim 14, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster areis provided with:
an in-phase splitter, which splits input subsignals into third and fourth subsignals of the same phase;
a delay device, which delays said fourth subsignal;
an amplitude adjuster, which is able to adjust the amplitude of said third subsignal in a single phase; and
an anti-phase combiner, which combines in opposite phases said third subsignal after amplitude adjustment and said fourth subsignal after delay.
26. The signal cancellation device according to claim 14, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster comprises:
a splitter, which splits the input signals into mutually orthogonal first and second subsignals and a third subsignal, which has a freely selected phase and is in the opposite quadrant of said first and second subsignals;
a delay device, which delays said third subsignal;
third and fourth amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of said first and second subsignals each in a single phase; and
an in-phase combiner, which combines the same phase said first and second subsignals after amplitude adjustment and said third subsignal after delay.
27. The signal cancellation device according to claim 14, wherein at least one of said first and second amplitude adjuster comprises:
a splitter, which splits the input signals into first, second and a third subsignals having the same phase;
a delay device, which delays said third subsignal;
third and fourth amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of said first and second subsignals each in a single phase; and
a combiner, which combines said first and second subsignals in the same phase after amplitude after adjustment and said third subsignal after delay in a freely selected phase in the opposite quadrant as said first and second subsignals.
28. The signal cancellation device according to claim 14, and further comprising an automatic controller, which alternately and repetitively performs a first adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced by controlling a first amplitude adjuster, and a second adjustment process, whereby the amplitude of the output signal at this time is minimized or reduced by controlling a second amplitude adjuster, are alternately performed in repetition.
29. A feed-forward amplifier comprising a signal cancellation device in one of a pre-stage distortion extraction loop and a post-stage distortion loop, said signal cancellation device including:
an orthogonal splitter, which splits one of said signals into first and second subsignals which are mutually orthogonal;
first and second amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of the first and second subsignals; and
an in-phase combiner, which combines in-phase said first and second subsignals which have undergone amplitude adjustment.
30. A feed-forward amplifier comprising a signal cancellation device in one of prestage distortion extraction loop and a post-stage distortion loop, said signal cancellation device including:
an in-phase splitter, which splits one of said signals into first and second subsignals having the same phase;
first and second amplitude adjusters, which are able to adjust the amplitudes of the first and second subsignals; and
an orthogonal combiner, which orthogonally combines said first and second subsignals which have undergone amplitude adjustment.
31. The feed-forward amplifier according to claim 29, and further comprising a next-stage splitter, which splits a portion of the output of the pre-stage amplifier, and a pre-stage combiner, which synthesizes said split signals and the delay signals of the pre-stage.
32. The feed-forward amplifier according to claim 30, and further comprising a next-stage splitter, which splits a portion of the output of the pre-stage amplifier, and a pre-stage combiner, which synthesizes said split signals and the delay signals of the pre-stage.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A process for preparing a molded article consisting essentially of:
(i) high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan and
(ii) low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan,
wherein the process comprises the step of:
adding the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan to a solution comprising the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan to gel the solution, wherein
the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 180 and less than 620, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25 and,
the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 620 and less than 37000, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25.
2. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 1, wherein
the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 180 and less than 560, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25 and,
the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 680 and less than 37000, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25.
3. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 1, wherein the \u03b1-1,4-glucans are enzyme-synthesized \u03b1-1,4-glucan.
4. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan and the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 25:75.
5. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan:low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 50:50.
6. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan:low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 75:25.
7. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 1,
wherein the process further comprises the step of:
cooling a solution comprising the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan and the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan to gel the solution, wherein
the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 180 and less than 620, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25 and,
the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 620 and less than 37000, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25.
8. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 7, wherein
the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 180 and less than 560, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25 and,
the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 680 and less than 37000, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25.
9. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 7, wherein the weight ratio of the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan and the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 25:75.
10. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 7, wherein the weight ratio of high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan:low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 50:50.
11. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 7, wherein the weight ratio of high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan:low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 75:25.
12. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 1,
wherein the process further comprises the step of:
neutralizing an alkaline solution comprising the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan and the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan to gel the solution, wherein
the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 180 and less than 620, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25 and,
the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 620 and less than 37000, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25.
13. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 12, wherein
the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 180 and less than 560, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25 and,
the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan has a degree of polymerization of greater than or equal to 680 and less than 37000, and has a molecular weight distribution of not greater than 1.25.
14. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 12, wherein the weight ratio of the high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan and the low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 25:75.
15. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 12, wherein the weight ratio of high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan:low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 50:50.
16. The process for preparing a molded article according to claim 12, wherein the weight ratio of high molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan:low molecular weight linear \u03b1-1,4-glucan is within the range of 99:1 to 75:25.

1. An internal communication system adapted for communicatively coupling a plurality of nodes during a cycle, wherein the cycle presents a cycle length and a plurality of static temporal slots, and optimizing a schedule of time-triggered internodal messages and the cycle length, said system comprising:
at least one host electronic-control-unit (ECU); and
at least one channel communicatively interconnecting the nodes and ECU, said ECU and channel being cooperatively configured to transmit the messages to and from at least a portion of the nodes within the static slots, wherein each node is individually assigned to at least one slot, during the cycle, and a static segment, and number of unused slots is presented,
said ECU being programmably configured to autonomously determine an optimal schedule for transmitting the plurality of messages within the static slots, and an optimal cycle length, wherein the number of unused slots is maximized,
said ECU being further configured to fragment at least a portion of the messages into a plurality of signals prior to optimization, and defragment the signals, so as to reconstitute the original messages after optimization,
said ECU being further configured to determine for each signal (sij) an originating node, a size in bytes, a period in microseconds (Tij), and a transmission window, including start and end times (wsij, weij), such that 0\u2266wsij\u2266weij\u2266Tij, wherein i represents the node number and j represents the signal number.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein based on the transmission window wsij, weij of each signal (sij), a slot-cycle range (scr(ij)) for the signal is determined such that scr(ij)={(k, h)|1\u2266k\u2266gNumberOfStaticSlots, 1 \u2266h\u2266ncc, and (k, h) satisfies the following formulas:
(h\u22121)*gdCycle+(k\u22121)* LengthStaticSlot\u2267wsij, and
(h\u22121)*gdCycle+k* LengthStaticSlot\u2266weij.
3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slot-cycle assignment for each signal is encoded using integers 0 and 1, the number 1 indicates that signal (sij), is scheduled for the particular slot and cycle, and the sum of slot-cycle values for all combinations of differing nodal signals for any given slot is not greater than 1.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, said ECU being further configured to determine a common period, T, equal to the least common multiple of a plurality of differing periods Tij.
5. The system as claimed in claim 4, said ECU being further configured to determine the length of the communication cycle in microseconds (gdCycle), the number of static slots in the static segment (gNumberOjStaticSlots), the payload length of a static frame for the static slot (gPayloadLengthStatic), the duration of a static slot in the number of macroticks (gdStaticSlot), the duration of a nominal macrotick in microseconds (gdMacrotick), and the duration of a static slot in microseconds (LengthStaticSlot), wherein the LengthStaticSlot is equal to the product of gdStaticSlot and gdMacrotick.
6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the length of the communication cycle in microseconds (gdCycle) is a factor of the common period T.
7. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein gPayloadLengthStatic, gdStaticSlot, and gdMacrotick are predetermined prior to receipt of the messages.
8. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein optimal values for gdCycle, and gNumberOfStaticSlots are determined from a predetermined set of available combinations based on the period andor communication cycle length.
9. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the optimal schedule and cycle length are determined according to a plurality of requirements, including that each slot is assigned to at most one node, each signal is scheduled within its transmission window, and the total size of all signals that are assigned to the same slot in a communication cycle is less than or equal to the payload size of a static frame.
10. The system as claimed in claim 9, said schedule and cycle length being determined by modeling the system as a multiple choice integer program (MCIP) problem.
11. The system as claimed in claim 9, said ECU being further configured to terminate the determination of the optimal schedule and length for a given set of signals, when the requirements are not able to be met, and reinitiated upon receipt of a second plurality of messages.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A lumbar support for a vehicle backrest, the lumbar support comprising:
a rest member having a front surface shaped to support an area of a user’s back;
an elastic member comprising:
a) at least an attachment portion arranged behind said rest member and connected to an intermediate portion of said rest member, and
b) two opposing ends designed to be connected to a backrest frame;
said elastic member being designed to maintain said rest member in a rest position and to deform in response to a thrust of the user’s back so as to backwardly release said rest member:

between the rest position and a first position under normal use conditions, and
from the first position to a second position when a thrust against the front surface exceeds a given force value;
characterized in that the said elastic member has a characteristic forcedisplacement curve having a slope between zero and a given threshold in the section between the first and second positions; said threshold being equal to 0.5 Nmm.
2. The lumbar support according to claim 1, characterized in that the slope of said characteristic curve reaches zero in the section between the first and the second positions.
3. The lumbar support according to claim 1, characterized in that the shift between the first and second positions is at least equal to 20 mm.
4. The lumbar support according to claim 1, characterized in that the shift between the rest position and the first position is at least equal to 10 mm.
5. The lumbar support according to claim 1, characterized in that said elastic member is defined by a single spring.
6. The lumbar support according to claim 5, characterized in that said attachment portion is a straight horizontal portion having a length greater than or equal to 200 mm.
7. The lumbar support according to claim 5, characterized in that said single spring is a leaf spring.
8. The lumbar support according to claim 7, characterized in that said leaf spring has a height between 25 and 50 mm.
9. The lumbar support according to claim 7, characterized in that said leaf spring comprises two curved portions, which couple said attachment portion to said ends and each defining two bends having opposite concavities.
10. The support according to claim 9, characterized in that said bends have curvature radii between 20 and 50 mm.